What is life expectancy in Afghanistan?

Life expectancy in Afghanistan was 66.03 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Afghanistan?

The highest recorded value was 66.03 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Afghanistan?

The lowest recorded value was 28.16 years in 1950.

How does Afghanistan rank for life expectancy?

Afghanistan ranks 203rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Afghanistan?

Over the last ten years it is up 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Afghanistan data come from?

The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Life expectancy in Afghanistan

Name: Life expectancy in Afghanistan
Creator: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Afghanistan: Life expectancy was 66.03 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

66.03 years

Change on year

up 0.6%

World rank

203rd

of 236 countries

All-time high

66.03 years

in 2023

All-time low

28.16 years

in 1950

Years of data

1950–2023

Life expectancy in Afghanistan, 1950–2023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for life expectancy in Afghanistan is 66.03 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 6.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Afghanistan peaked at 66.03 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 28.16 years, in 1950.

That places Afghanistan 203rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	30.16 years	28.16 years	32.34 years	10
1960s	34.9 years	32.8 years	36.98 years	10
1970s	39.28 years	37.46 years	41.08 years	10
1980s	37.98 years	31.47 years	44.5 years	10
1990s	50.44 years	45.12 years	54.53 years	10
2000s	57.74 years	55 years	60.25 years	10
2010s	62.08 years	60.7 years	62.94 years	10
2020s	63.38 years	60.42 years	66.03 years	4

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

200 Sudan 66.33 years compare
201 South Africa 66.14 years compare
202 Papua New Guinea 66.13 years compare
204 Djibouti 65.99 years compare
205 Gambia 65.86 years compare
206 Congo 65.77 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Afghanistan

Number of infants who die before age 1 14,735 deaths (2100)
Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 812.4 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
Deaths in armed conflicts by region 454 deaths (2026)
Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 454 deaths (2026)
Age dependency ratio, young 77.4% (2025)
Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 528,960 (2025)
Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 568,728 (2025)
Age population, age 12, female, interpolated 542,847 (2025)
Age population, age 11, male, interpolated 582,634 (2025)
Population, male 22.14 million (2025)

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Afghanistan?: Life expectancy in Afghanistan was 66.03 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Afghanistan?: The highest recorded value was 66.03 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Afghanistan?: The lowest recorded value was 28.16 years in 1950.
How does Afghanistan rank for life expectancy?: Afghanistan ranks 203rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Afghanistan?: Over the last ten years it is up 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Afghanistan data come from?: The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy
Unit: years
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.